


Galactic New Year

by NoisyNoiverns



Series: Jai Shepard [5]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 21:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9143395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoisyNoiverns/pseuds/NoisyNoiverns
Summary: Every year, the Council throws a party for the Galactic New Year's, according to the galactic standard calendar. Having just shucked off Cerberus, Jai Shepard is invited in order to rebuild their reputation with the press.AU where Saren and Nihlus survive ME1.Mass Effect Holiday Prompts, Dec 31: New Year's Countdown





	

**Author's Note:**

> WOW this is self-indulgent
> 
> kia, zofia, and isaiah are all other shepards who were integrated into jai shepard's canon  
> the alien ocs are all major characters from [rise & reign](http://archiveofourown.org/series/162281), an oc-centric series written by myself and xMidnightSun, with the exception of aediteia and verres, who are just in here because i am physically incapable of writing sparatus without including my ocs for his family

Jai Shepard grimaced and played with their sleeve cuffs. “I still can’t believe you’re making me wear this, Anderson. I don’t think the Council really cares what I show up in. I mean, it’s a _New Year’s_ party.”

 _“Galactic_ New Year’s, Shepard,” Anderson corrected. “And they might not, but the news will. And right now, you need all the good publicity you can get.”

“I know, I know.” Jai snorted. “Be seen kissing ass so people will actually believe me when I say I kicked Cerberus to the curb.”

“Hey, I’m with you,” Anderson said, clapping them on the shoulder. “I’m only here because Udina says I have to be. Besides, it won’t be all bad. I was talking with Tevos, there’s music, and the buffet takes up one whole wall.”

Jai paused, then shrugged. “That doesn’t sound so bad. Who all do I know that’s gonna be at this thing?”

Anderson checked his reflection in the mirror. “The councilors, of course. Udina, Din Korlack- most of the ambassadors. You’ve met Sparatus’s wife, she’ll be there. I think Sparatus said a couple of his kids might make it. Plenty of Spectres, obviously. I _know_ Nihlus Kryik is coming. I ran into him trying to talk Sparatus into lifting Saren’s house arrest for the evening so he could come along.”

Jai checked their omni-tool. “How’s Nihlus doing? We haven’t talked much since just after I hit the Collector base.”

“You’ll have to ask him yourself. There’s been talk of him returning to active duty, if they can just find someone else they trust to stay with Saren while Nihlus is gone, but nothing’s concrete yet.”

“Huh.” They deleted a few messages, then reached for their coat. The Wards were heated, but there was a lot of empty air to warm, so the walk was still going to be chilly. “Ready when you are.”

As the Citadel Tower didn’t really have any rooms suitable for a big party, the bash was instead being held in the ballroom of a hotel on Kithoi Ward. Anderson, being the human councilor, was technically supposed to arrive early, but after attending the two parties held while Jai was dead, he’d cheerfully informed Jai nobody actually held them to that. Sparatus was habitually late anyway, thanks to having to help corral his grandchildren, and Valern was late on purpose to anything that wasn’t vitally important as a passive-aggressive protest, so nobody paid much mind to Anderson showing up as the party started.

To Jai’s surprise, Tevos met them at the door. Jai almost didn’t recognize her out of her business attire, now replaced with a more party-appropriate green gown and gold jewelry. “Commander, Anderson, glad you could both make it,” she said, shaking each of their hands in turn.

“Councilor,” Anderson greeted. “Have either of the others made it yet?”

“No, I’m watching for them.” Tevos pulled up her omni-tool. “Ierian sent me a message a few minutes ago, he’s been delayed, as usual. Apparently the baby woke up on their way back to Ierian’s after dinner, and she upset the others, and they’re having trouble getting all of them to calm back down.”

“What about Valern?”

Tevos closed her ’tool and shook her head. “Nothing, of course. I think he may be even later than he was last year. I overheard Ambassadors Esheel and Aehe discussing which dalatrasses might show up, and I know one of them hates him, and another unnerves him.”

“Wonderful,” Anderson deadpanned. “So it’s just you and me for a while.”

“It would seem so.” She tucked her hands behind her back and looked at Jai, appraising them for a moment before glancing off to one side. “The food is over there, Commander.”

Jai grinned. “And I don’t even have to make small talk? Sweet, thank you, ma’am.”

They took off without waiting for a reply. True to Anderson’s word, the buffet took up a full wall of the room, divided neatly into sections by species. The section for turian cuisine was surprisingly large, but then, Jai supposed it was to make up for the only other dextro species being quarians, who couldn’t exactly provide dishes themselves. The human section, they were pleased to discover, had yet to be picked over by human guests.

A service they were only too happy to provide.

They’d only filled roughly half their plate when a quiet cough behind them drew their attention. They swallowed their mouthful of fried rice, then started to turn around, saying, “Sorry, I-”

They froze, then set their plate down and spun on their heel, a grin splitting their face. “Liara!”

Liara gave them that trademark little smile. “Hello, Shepard. My sources _said_ you’d be here tonight.”

Jai folded their arms across their chest. “Yeah, Anderson said I should. Be seen making nice with the Council after telling Timmy to go fuck himself, and all.” They made a face, then went back to grinning. “So, why are _you_ here? What about… well, y’know?”

Liara laughed. “Don’t worry about me, Shepard. I left Feron in charge on Hagalaz. Since my mother’s death, there have been a lot of matriarchs trying to get on my good side, in hopes of some of Benezia’s influence rubbing off, so I get invited to these types of things a lot.” She ran a hand over her crest and added, “It’s not really something I enjoy, but, well, in my line of work, it’s good to have connections in the upper tiers of society.”

Jai nodded, reaching up with one hand to stroke an imaginary beard. “Makes sense, makes sense. What about Kia and Zofia, are they with you?” The two ground team members from the original _Normandy_ had been helping Liara on Illium, they knew, and given how fond they’d been of each other, Jai figured it was doubtful Liara had just left them behind in the move to Hagalaz.

Liara’s smile grew, and she nodded. “Yes, they’re mingling. I wanted to drop by and say hello.”

Jai raised an eyebrow. “What, you’re not going to hang out with me? I’m hurt, Doc.”

Liara shook her head. “No, I should find Kia before she picks any fights. You remember how she was, don’t you?”

Jai shrugged. “Eh, vanguards are like that. Remember how _Wrex_ got?”

“Unfortunately.” Liara smiled despite her words. “I’ll come find you later, Shepard. Happy New Year’s.”

“Happy New Year’s, Liara,” Jai said as Liara turned and walked off. They watched her go for a moment, then shrugged and turned back to their food. Lasagna wasn’t going to eat itself, after all.

Now that they’d been left in peace, they filled their plate, then slipped around to the other side of the table to lean against the wall and people-watch. The party was already gearing itself up, with more people filing in by the minute. Live music had gotten started, currently an asari band with a lead vocalist decked out in a feather-lined cape. Several people were dancing, and every few seconds, more followed their lead. Jai was tempted to see if they’d take requests, but they doubted asari knew any twentieth-century Earth tunes.

Granted, not a lot of human bands knew them, either, but it was always worth a shot.

They were working their way through a second plate of food when, yet again, they were interrupted by a cough. They glanced up to find that this time, rather than Liara back for another round of conversation, a big, gray crested turian with familiar markings was waiting for them, arms folded under his keel. “Commander Shepard?”

They swallowed, then nodded. “Speaking.”

He nodded and held out a hand, which Jai shook. “General Verres Sparatus. My father’s looking for you. Says there’s someone he wants you to meet.”

Jai nodded and squeezed their way back over to his side of the table. “Your father’s the councilor, I’m guessing?”

He nodded, waiting for them to reach him before setting off. “I’m the middle child. My little sister wanted to come, too, but our brother decided to go off partying with some friends in Zakera Ward, so she got stuck babysitting. I promised to take over for her later so she could come and party, though.”

Jai watched their plate like a hawk, trying to make sure nothing fell off as they took long strides to keep up with Verres. “That was nice of you.”

He shrugged. “Callie’s a softie by turian standards. It’s hard _not_ to be nice to her.”

The conversation died there, and Verres led them along the buffet tables over to where two familiar older turians, one very and one less so, were standing and talking with a thin-faced crestless in a headscarf. Sparatus looked up as they approached, nodded, and gestured for Jai to join them. “Shepard, there you are,” he said. “Thank you, Verres, you can go, if you want.”

Verres vanished, and Sparatus rolled his eyes. “Shepard, you remember my wife, Aediteia,” he said, nudging the tiny brown crestless next to him.

Aediteia’s eyes sparkled, and her mandibles fluttered. “Good to see you again, Commander,” she said, holding out a hand.

Jai shook it with a nod. “You, too, ma’am.”

She smiled, and Sparatus looked back to the turian in the headscarf. “I _told_ you they were here. Shepard, this is Sephira Actinus. She was part of the team that worked on the original _Normandy._ ”

Jai turned to her, automatically holding out a hand as they peered under the headscarf. Sephira was tall, almost a full head taller than Sparatus, so Jai had to crane their neck slightly to see her face.

Two piercing golden eyes met their gaze as a sharp-taloned hand folded neatly around theirs. The yellow pigment faded to gray the farther it got from the pupil, and the effect was mesmerizing enough that Jai almost didn’t hear as Sephira said in clipped tones, “I was in charge of the Tantalus drive core. My best work, really.”

Jai took a moment to process the vaguely offended undertone to Sephira’s words, then coughed awkwardly, dropping her hand. “I, uh, I’m sorry about blowing up your masterpiece,” they said, rubbing the back of their neck. “Or, uh, well, sorry the Collectors blew it up, I had no way of knowing they were there, of course, it was all so sudden…”

Sephira just stared at them. They coughed again, and looked to Sparatus for help, but he and Aediteia had turned away and were now quietly discussing the food before them. _Thanks,_ they thought to themselves, then shook their head. “Anyway, uh, what brings you to the Citadel, ma’am? Unless, I mean, unless you live here, then…”

Sephira regarded them a moment longer, then, to their great relief, her mandibles quirked upward in a turian smile. “I don’t, no. My son invited me.” She turned her head, casting a glance about the room, then raised an arm to point a manicured talon at a small cluster of turians on the opposite corner of the dance floor. “The big bronze, that’s my Tollak,” she said proudly. “He’s an ambassador in the turian embassy here. Ierian- Councilor Sparatus, I mean- he was telling me Tol has a lot of potential, might even make councilor someday. He’s good at the work, knows the law forwards and back, he’s just shy.”

Jai nodded, taking a bite of cookie. Maybe Sephira was just very serious about engineering, who knew? Turians were a mystery.

Sephira was looking around again. “My other son is here, too. He’s not an ambassador, but he and his mate work for the Council on occasion, and since he’s Tollak’s brother he got invited… Oh, _no.”_

Jai followed her gaze back along the buffet line to a small cluster of people- three turians, a human, and a quarian. Just as they were about to ask what was wrong, Sephira stalked away, headed right for them. After a moment’s thought, they reluctantly followed, doing their best to eat and not drop their plate at the same time. Their food was getting cold, dammit.

By the time they got there, Sephira was already scolding a big, maroon-plated crested with hands tucked behind his back. “Yes, Mom. Sorry, Mom,” he was saying, in a tone that sounded suspiciously close to the one Jai used to apologize to _their_ mother when they weren’t actually sorry.

Figuring it was best to sit this conversation out, Jai let their attention wander. The maroon turian was flanked by a quarian in a blue suit, whose mask was opaque and chin was resting in their hands like they’d heard this conversation a million times before and decided not to make it a million and one.

The other three faces were significantly more familiar.

“Holy shit, _Saren?”_ Jai said, moving past the lecturing mother. While they wouldn’t necessarily call Saren Arterius a _friend,_ he’d been at least grudgingly non-threatening to them after Sovereign had been killed and the Reaper tech in his body removed, and had even seemed to be warming up to them since they’d come back to life. The fact that they’d given him every scrap of information on Cerberus they could gather certainly hadn’t hurt. Nihlus had said Saren had been hunting the Illusive Man before Eden Prime, determined to avenge his brother’s death back in 2157. They liked to think they’d helped at least a little bit.

Saren looked at them briefly, then flicked a mandible and went back to picking at his food. “Shepard.”

“Hey, what about me?” came a protest.

Jai was already grinning by the time they turned around. “Isaiah, my dude,” they enthused, putting their fork down on their plate so they could dispense a high-five. “Love the dreads, man.”

“Thanks.” He grinned, reaching back to run a hand through his dreadlocks. “I’m telling you, the Alliance was great and all, but they _really_ need to lighten up on those rules about natural hair.”

Jai nodded sagely. Isaiah’s complaints about the restrictions on his hair had been a staple of the _SR1._ “What are you doing here, man? I thought you quit the Alliance.”

“I did, man.” He took a drink from whatever fruity-smelling cocktail was in his hand, then continued, “Apparently, I’m a hot commodity. Council wouldn’t let Saren show up unless I did, too.”

“Really?” Jai raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Saren, who snorted and looked away. “Maybe you made more of an impact than you thought.” When Isaiah had told them he was leaving the _Normandy_ to stay on the Citadel and help with Saren’s therapy post-Sovereign, they hadn’t been sure it was safe, but at the same time, it had been plain to see that Isaiah was making progress with him whether he realized it or not.

Nihlus, waiting patiently behind Saren, cut in then. “Personally, I don’t think Saren would have been released from the hospital when he was without Isaiah’s help,” he said, one mandible going up and the other going down when Saren turned to give him the stink-eye. “Whether he wants to admit it or not, having someone around who understood his grief was a major help.”

“Shut up, Nihlus,” Saren grumbled, knocking his shoulder against Nihlus’s bicep and pulling his head into his cowl to hide how blue his neck had turned.

Nihlus snorted, and Isaiah ducked his head. “You’re too kind,” he told his drink.

Jai grinned. “So, Nihlus, how’ve you been?” they asked, picking their fork back up. “Been a while since we dropped you back off.”

Nihlus shrugged. “I suppose I can’t complain. Escaped having to go on a suicide mission by sheer luck, got to spend time with my boyfriend instead of dying horribly on some uncharted rock at the center of the galaxy…”

Jai snorted. “Hey, everyone’s still alive, you can all stop giving me shit about the whole suicide part.”

“I’m just _saying,_ Shepard.”

“Yeah, sure, everyone’s _just saying…_ ” They shook their head, then took another bite of food, turning to check on Sephira and Axilus. Sephira had apparently finished her rant, and was now talking to the quarian, leaving Axilus free to slowly edge his way back over to their little group.

“Hey,” he said with a little nod to the group at large. “Sorry, Mom’s been kinda testy since… Well, since Dad died,” he finished in a mumble. “And I’m not the super-smart ambassador who might be councilor someday, so I get it worse than Tol.”

Nihlus nodded. “Don’t worry about it. My mother got the same way.”

Axilus nodded and opened his mouth to respond, but ducked his head instead, just as a strong breeze passed Jai from behind. They glanced over their shoulder to see Sephira stalking away, head held high, and they tried not to be obvious about the sigh of relief they let out. Talk about awkward.

“Hey.”

Jai practically jumped out of their skin, spinning to find the quarian in blue had reappeared at their elbow, their mask now translucent enough for their eyes and a faint outline of their face to be visible. They blinked slowly at Jai, then snorted. “So,” they said, “you’re Commander Shepard?”

Axilus’s head went up, mandibles fluttering. “Wait, really?”

Jai swallowed, then nodded. “That’d be me, yeah.”

The quarian regarded them, then held out a hand. “Thie’Haasn vas _Eijalsen._ You’ve met Axilus.”

“Sorta,” they admitted, shaking Thie’s hand before reaching one out to Axilus. “I was talking to your mom before she came over here.”

Axilus’s neck went blue. “Sorry about her,” he grumbled, shaking their hand. “Axilus Madelivio.”

Jai nodded. “Your, uh, your mom said you have a mate?”

Axilus’s mandibles went up, and he elbowed Thie. “Yeah, that’d be Captain Stoic over here,” he teased.

A faint blush appeared behind Thie’s visor, and Axilus laughed. “He’s shy,” he informed Jai, folding his arms under his keel.

Isaiah coughed into his fist. “Look, dude, I’m happy for you and all, but are we gonna do this or what? I mean, now that your mom’s gone.”

Jai blinked. “Do what?”

Nihlus heaved a sigh. “A ‘fingerfood eating contest,’” he told them, casting a critical eye in Saren’s direction. “Isaiah’s idea.”

Isaiah spread his hands out. “Hey, it’s for _science._ I mean, Madelivio’s a big dude, I’m a biotic, and, like…” He glanced over at Jai. “Shep, I swear, I had an existential crisis watching Saren eat in therapy. Like, where does it all _go?”_

Saren grunted. “Trade secret.”

Isaiah rolled his eyes. “So, I figured, why not have an eating contest? Whoever eats the most in a certain amount of time without choking or puking wins.”

Jai raised an eyebrow. “What’s the prize?”

Isaiah shrugged. “Bragging rights, I dunno. I don’t really have a lot on me, man.”

“I see.” Jai pursed their lips, then shrugged. “Well, you three have fun. I should go kiss a few more asses, but I’ll come back later, see who won.”

Isaiah grinned and shot them a double thumbs-up. “See you around, Cap.”

Jai mirrored the gesture, then trotted off, finally wandering away from the buffet tables. If they were there to play nice with important people, they wouldn’t get a lot of that done hiding with the food.

They skirted around the dance floor, nodding to Anderson and Udina as they passed. Best not to get involved in whatever _that_ conversation was, but at least Udina had seen them, so he wouldn’t be able to complain.

They slowed to a leisurely stroll by the big, glass doors leading out onto a balcony, gazing out at the glittering city lights, and the nebula beyond that. They’d heard that, at certain points of the year, you could see the mass relay from different points on the station. Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to be one of those times where this was an ideal spot, but the view was nice all the same.

“Shepard.”

Jai yelped and almost dropped their plate as a tac cloak broke a pace ahead of them and off to their left. Councilor Valern hopped back, eye membranes twitching rapidly, then he shook his head. “Apologies. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Jai sucked in their breath, checking to make sure they hadn’t lost any of the scraps they had left, then shook their head. “I’m fine, sir, just- I just wasn’t expecting you, sir.”

“Evidently.” One eye blinked, then the other. “Aren’t you supposed to be socializing?”

Jai shrugged, picking up half a cookie. “Trick I learned after Akuze, sir. I just have to be seen _near_ people, not necessarily _with_ people. Food’s a good excuse for not joining a lot of conversations.”

He considered this, then nodded. “Clever.” He shook his head again, then folded his arms across his chest. “You wouldn’t happen to have seen a wrinkly, gray salarian with stumpy horns, white facial tattoos, and standing about this tall, would you?” He held his hand at the top of his own horns and added, “Excluding height from the horns, of course.”

They blinked, rummaging through their memories from the night, then shook their head. “I don’t think so, sir.”

“Good, maybe she’s not here.” He snorted, then started walking off, motioning for Jai to follow him.

They did, nearly trotting to keep up with his long legs. “Sorry, sir, but maybe _who’s_ not here?”

“Dalatrass Linron,” he grumbled. “Evil incarnate, unless you’re from her own clan. Notoriously conservative and stubborn. When she calls, half the salarian embassy vanishes. And she _hates_ me.”

Jai frowned. “Why?”

He shrugged. “For one thing, my egg wasn’t fertilized, so that’s already a strike against me in the conservative camp. Salarian politics are traditionally handled by females, which I am not. For another, my political stances tend to lean significantly more liberal than Linron likes.”

They stopped walking around the middle of the row of doors, and Valern leaned against a column. Deciding it was safe to start eating again, Jai picked up what was left of their cookie and stuffed it in their mouth, lamenting to themselves that they hadn’t refilled their plate before leaving the buffet.

While they chewed, they looked out over the room again. The asari band from earlier was gone, replaced by salarians. The lead vocalist was a study in kinetic energy, never staying in one place or pose for more than a few moments. Just watching them made Jai tired. They made a mental note to see if other salarian acts were similar.

Valern must have noticed them watching, because he drawled, “Impressive, isn’t he? And only eleven years old.”

Jai almost choked on their cookie. They swallowed, then asked, _“Eleven?”_

“Mhm. Of course, that’d be…” He frowned slightly, then continued, “Around twenty or so for a human, but still. His career took off unusually early for us. I suppose it helps that his aunt is a dalatrass.”

Jai watched, entranced by the salarian’s movement. “Are all salarian singers like that?”

“Yes, for the most part. His act is of particular note, however. He’s completely blind.”

If they’d been drinking anything, they would have done a rather spectacular spittake. Instead, their jaw dropped, and they turned to gape at Valern. “He’s _blind?”_

“Surprise. As I understand it, they used a technique similar to how the hanar get around to fashion him a sort of seeing aid. Think echolocation, but with a massive static field.”

Jai didn’t know what to say to that, so all they said was a simple, “Dude.”

Valern nodded sagely, like that was all that needed to be said. Then he abruptly pushed himself back to his feet and gave them a little bow, saying, “There, I think that’s enough time spent being seen talking to me. On your way, Shepard. Watch out for Linron, she wasn’t in favor of _you,_ either.”

Jai nodded, heart in their mouth. They’d known from experience that Valern had a habit of appearing, spouting off information, and disappearing again, but that didn’t make it any less unnerving when he did.

With another glance at the blind singer, they shuddered, then started making their way back to the buffet, both for more food and to see if the group from before had finished their eating contest. But, honestly, more for more food.

Sure enough, once they’d refilled their plate and ambled back to where Isaiah and the others were gathered, it looked like they were pretty much done, and were now just seeing how much they could stuff in their faces. The turians looked somewhat ridiculous, in Jai’s opinion- without cheeks or the ability to chew their food, _every_ size was “bite size” to turians, so Saren and Axilus both had food spilling out the sides of their mouths, impaled on teeth and only not falling to the floor because of the tilt of their mandibles.

As Jai approached, the group looked up, and Axilus grinned. Apparently, he’d forgotten how many bits of food he had balanced on his mandibles, because the instant they went up, everything cascaded down, and his mandibles dropped back down in the most hilariously pitiful “I fucked up” expression Jai had ever seen on a turian. They snorted, then laughed outright, slapping their thigh as Thie elbowed Axilus in the side and called him some quarian insult.

“Sorry, Madelivio,” they said with an apologetic shrug and a shit-eating grin as the group choked down what they’d been eating. “That’s my fault.”

Axilus whined, then snorted and shook his head. “Eh, that was probably too much, anyway,” he said, folding his arms.

They shrugged, then glanced at Isaiah. “So, who won?”

Isaiah scowled and snorted. “Madelivio. Turns out _he’s_ biotic, too. Man, I feel _cheated…”_

Saren snorted. “You would have known better if that lump in the middle of your face functioned properly.”

“Saren, don’t be rude,” Nihlus said.

Jai raised an eyebrow. “If you could smell it, then why didn’t you say anything?”

Saren shrugged. “It sounded…” He grimaced.

Nihlus snorted. “Fun? Come on, Saren, you can say it.”

“Be quiet, Nihlus.”

Nihlus rolled his eyes, and Saren clicked his mandibles against his jaw, regarding Jai with the same piercing look he’d given them during the hearing literally a lifetime ago. “Shepard,” he said finally, “come with me. There’s someone you should meet.”

Jai blinked owlishly, then pointed at their food. “But… I just got this.”

Saren lowered one mandible and raised his brow plates, and Jai sighed. “Fine, I’m coming.”

Nihlus glanced at Saren, and a deep thrumming through Jai’s chest told them they were talking in subvocals, like Garrus sometimes did when he didn’t want them to overhear whatever he was saying to other turians. Finally, Nihlus nodded, and the thrum ceased. “Just be careful.”

“Of course, Nihlus.”

The two turians brushed their cheek plates together, then Nihlus turned away, and Jai followed Saren away, to a corner of the room with significantly fewer occupants. Just one, really- a crestless turian with broad shoulders, huddled in the corner and clutching a glass in one hand. Saren pulled up short, and motioned Jai over towards the wall. “Wait here,” he murmured, “where she can’t see you. She has a very narrow range.”

Jai frowned but nodded, and he sidestepped a couple paces until the crestless noticed him. Then, her gaze on him, he approached, and took her free hand in both of his.

Jai glanced around the room again while they waited. Sparatus and his wife had taken to the dance floor, and were spinning around and laughing with each other. Tevos was dancing, too, with an asari Jai didn’t recognize. For one heart-stopping moment, they locked eyes with Tela Vasir across the room, and sighed in relief when she merely nodded to them and glanced away.

“Shepard,” Saren called, and they looked back over. The crestless now had eyes locked directly on them, mandibles fluttering curiously as they cautiously approached.

“Shepard,” Saren said as they drew near, “do you remember when Nihlus and I told you about my brother, and what happened to him?”

They nodded, and Saren said quietly, “This is Captain Valis Abrudas. She was Desolas’s right hand on Shanxi. They were… very close.”

Abrudas regarded Jai carefully. Up close, Jai could see every line of her body was tense, her eyes wide despite her focus on Jai. “You’re Commander Shepard?” She squinted, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. Everyone looks the same now. But… I think I know your…” She looked at Saren. “Head fuzz.”

“Hair, Valis,” he supplied, one hand resting on her shoulder.

“Right.” She nodded, then looked back at Shepard. “I’m sorry. My memory doesn’t work right. New things don’t stick like they should.”

Saren hummed. “She suffered blunt force trauma to the skull on Shanxi,” he told Jai, and they winced in sympathy. “Damage to several areas of her brain.”

“I’m sorry,” Jai murmured, a little voice in the back of their mind already wondering why Saren had brought them over to talk to a disabled turian.

Abrudas nodded, then squinted at them again, mandibles fluttering. “Saren says you’re helping hunt Jack Harper.”

Jai blinked. “Jack Har- _oh,_ the Illusive Man, right.” Nihlus had filled them in on Saren’s hunt, but they’d never bothered to refer to him as anything other than the Illusive Man (or, more often, ‘Timmy’) in their head. “Yeah, I kinda got the inside scoop on what Cerberus is up to, so I grabbed all the data I could and sent it back. I still have copies of everything, just in case.”

Abrudas took a moment to process this, then lifted her mandibles in a smile and nodded sharply. “Good.” She lifted her head and shook her neck out, then said firmly, “Kick his ass twenty-one times, Shepard. Once for you, and twenty for me and my squad.”

They couldn’t help themselves. They grinned, then moved their plate to their left hand and snapped a salute. “Yes, _ma’am!”_

Abrudas grinned, then looked at Saren. “Alright, kid, you can get lost now, I’ll be fine.”

Saren nodded and nudged her shoulder. “I’ll be back at midnight.”

“Is that a threat? Go make gooey eyes at your boyfriend.” She shoved him back, and he skittered away with a snort.

They left Abrudas to her alcohol, and Saren tucked his hands behind his back as they walked back to Nihlus and the others. “You understand, of course, that humans make her extraordinarily anxious,” he told them. “One of the damaged areas of her brain is the part that allows for facial recognition. Harper and his friends were the only humans she interacted with up close, and shortly after that, she lost the ability to distinguish Harper from any other human she meets.”

Jai _hrmm_ ed. “Makes sense.” They took a bite of food, swallowed, then continued, “I mean, if I thought there was a chance every ship I set foot on was actually Sovereign, I’d be nervous, too.”

Saren shuddered and nodded. “Valis normally doesn’t leave turian space, for that exact reason. She’s here because I told her about what you did, and she wanted to judge you for herself.”

“Huh.” Jai considered this for a moment, then glanced over their shoulder at the crestless in the corner. “I’m flattered, actually.”

Saren hummed, and they reached Nihlus and company before he or Jai could think of anything else to say. By then, Jai noticed, the little group had grown, now including Sparatus and Aediteia, Anderson, and a salarian Jai didn’t recognize. “Shepard,” Sparatus greeted with a flick of his mandibles. “Not the companion I would have expected of you, Saren.”

Saren ducked his head, continuing it into a small bow after a moment’s hesitation. “I was introducing Shepard to Captain Abrudas, Councilor.”

“Ah.” Sparatus nodded like this answered more than the one question.

Jai blinked. “Sir, weren’t you _just_ dancing?”

“I’m old, Shepard,” he said, one mandible lowering briefly. “Leave me be.”

Anderson coughed into his fist. “Shepard, it’s almost midnight,” he said. “You going to be coming back around my place after this, or back to the _Normandy_?”

Jai shrugged. “Eh, if I can bum a couch or spare bedroom, I’ll drop by. I don’t have anything pressing going on.”

“Good, then I’ll see you there.”

Axilus thrummed a subvocal, looking around the room. “Councilor, sir, you wouldn’t know where my brother went, would you?”

Aediteia answered just as Sparatus was opening his mouth. “He and his mate went home early, dear. They were fussing about the baby being without them too long.” She smiled. “First-time parents, and all. So sweet.”

Sparatus grunted. “Only when someone _else_ is the parent.”

“Hush, you.”

The music stopped then, and the group collectively turned towards the stage. The blind salarian had stepped back, now replaced by a frazzled-looking asari. “Okay, everyone,” they said into their omni-tool, which Jai assumed had a microphone app going. “It’s almost midnight, so-”

Jai had never liked the countdown part, not in a million years. It was too noisy. They hastily reached up and turned off their hearing aids, then pulled them out and stuck them in their pocket for good measure.

The result was a blissfully muffled environment as the asari used their omni-tool to flash up a countdown clock on the wall behind them. Thirty seconds. Jai put their hands over their ears, just in case. They spotted Saren doing the same, and Thie’Haasn pulled up his omni-tool. Jai remembered Tali saying something once about quarians being able to turn off auditory input to their suits, and they guessed that was what Thie was doing.

They glanced up at the timer. Ten seconds. Very muffled chanting was making it through their hands and damaged ears. Five. Four. Three. Two.

They could see everyone shouting, but the din was barely a buzz. Maybe the thresher maws had done them a favor by knocking out their hearing, after all.

There was a lot of embracing, all around the room. Aediteia and Sparatus kissed, as did Saren and Nihlus, and Axilus planted one right on Thie’s visor. Turian subvocals went up around the room, making Jai’s chest ache. Still, the excitement was intoxicating, and they grinned in spite of themselves.

After a moment, Jai put their hearing aids back in and turned them on, just in time for Aediteia and Sparatus to pull apart. “Happy New Year’s, darling,” Aediteia practically purred, one hand cradling Sparatus’s jaw.

Jai backed out of the group, then sidled around to tap Anderson on the shoulder. “I’m not gonna kiss you, but happy New Year, sir.”

Anderson turned to grin at them. “You too, Shepard. Now let’s get out of here, before anybody goes calling for speeches.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is not late pay no attention to publication timestamps


End file.
